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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Olan ~ Vishu Special

Any sadya is incomplete without Olan,so they say.I read somewhere that Olan is the 'soothradharan'* in a sadya,since there are so many dishes served in your plate/banana leaf it becomes impossible to taste each one individually without another taste masking the original.So before you taste any curry,have some Olan,which would clear the taste buds and you can taste the curry to its fullest,without any over powering taste of other dishes,isn't that cool?

I can not prove this though,since I made only Olan and not a sadya!

Olan can be made in many ways.Here,I have used Ash gourd and pumpkin with Red Cowpea beans.I have seen many versions which use ash gourd alone,or paired with pumpkin without the beans.

Cook the beans in a pressure cooker in enough water till tender,drain and keep aside.Cook the ash gourd,pumpkins and green chillies in thin coconut milk adding enough water till the vegetables are soft.[do not add more water since ash gourd releases water as it cooks].Mix in the cooked beans and salt to taste and let it come to a boil.Simmer and add thick coconut milk.Switch off the flame and add a tsp of coconut oil on top and crushed curry leaves.

How did we like it - Olan is a very mild curry which tastes best with a fiery thoran or mezhukkupuratti on the side.I made some hot potato roast and the combination was terrific!

*I have no clue how to translate soothradharan,probably the closest is - mastermind?